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Bye Bye, Merkur.

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Could be possible that they be scooped up by another company. I had plans to stock up on some more Merkur razors anyways so this is a great time to do it.

34C HD - need to double up
2X 34G HD
37C - need to double up
38C - need to double up
39C - need to double up
Futur - need to double up
Progress - need to double up

That's all for now.

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thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
With the current economic difficulties it looks likely that the entire DE business will be engulfed by China.

Could be. A lot of nice-looking razors at rock-bottom prices on AliExpress these days. There’s also great stuff in Merkur’s price point coming out of Canada, Germany, India, and Italy these days, too.

Here’s hoping; however in vain; Merkur/Dovo is able to save their factories and as many workers as possible and replace their Zamak with brass or stainless steel
 
Well the 34c is supposedly the most popular safety razor in the world. The company's got to be worth something, right? My guess is that somebody or something will acquire them and continue to put out their product. Whether that means a decrease in quality, no one can say. But I find it hard to believe they're just gonna fade away.

Just in case, I ordered the 37c this morning. No sense in risking it. Now I'll have all the ones I'm interested in owning.
 
I don't share the same sentiments with the majority of members across the forums and I hope you excuse my rant.

It's sad to see a company shutting down their business, but this is not final. They're looking for an investor. They have a good name and a long history in grooming supplies. They'll most probably find one as soon as this pandemic comes to an end. All products will remain the same as the labor with years of knowledge and expertise is there waiting.

Also, how many of us are using Merkur razors to shave with these days? Very few. Fewer than ever. Is this the end of traditional shaving? NO. Are there plenty of better performing razors available anytime? Certainly yes. So why all this panic? I'm sorry, I can't get it.

I've tried several Merkur razors, modern and vintage. If you compare a Merkur from the 1940s-1950s to a recent Merkur, you'd see a distinct difference in quality. Personally, I'm acutely aware of that as I've owned vintage Merkurs. If you have had the chance to own one, you'd have seen that too. Merkur does not live up to its reputation the last years.

Pot metal or zamak is a material that wears out easily and if you drop or hit your razor by accident, you're off to buy a new one. If you have the bad habit of screwing the handle tighter than usual, you'll soon end up with a bent thread on the top plate. I've been in the vintage hunt for a few years. If you ever find a vintage zamak razor in good condition, you have to consider yourself lucky and grab it. This happens once in a blue moon, you see such examples very rarely. It's more likely to find a Gillette from the early 1900s than a zamak made razor from the 1950s. Brass is a much more durable material. Stainless steel is even more durable and resistant to corrosion. I'll stick to these two materials for the rest of my shaving days. All the zamak razors I had had in my collection were sold when I understood how flimsy they are.

And do you know what I hate more about this situation? The fact that if no investor is interested to acquire them and they officially go bankrupt, Merkur razors will obtain a cult status, we will see Merkur razors popping up at premium prices, people will express their love about them more often than ever, they will say they're the "best ever" even though some of these are rubbish (my opinion).

If you're in hoarding mode, that's really good for the vendors who need money in these challenging times and bad for your pocket. You'll end up buying multiple razors you won't need in the foreseeable future and when you understand that you will want to get rid of them, but guess what. They're many people who think alike, so if you thought of selling them in the future for profit, you'd better be ready to wait many years.

I'm sure that none of the sad people has ever supported the Chinese knock-off industry and hasn't bought the Futur clone...

End of rant. Please continue with the sad reactions.
 
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Sad news. I shaved with a Merkur 15C this morning. I got into safety razors several years ago after seeing an episode of the program How It's Made on the Merkur razor factory. The parent of Merkur also makes knives, scissors, etc. Maybe another company will buy them as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. I have 5 vintage Gillettes (ranging in vintages from 1910 to 1960), so I don't think there will be a shortage of safety razors generally no matter what happens with Merkur. My advice to new enthusiasts would be to buy vintage razors. Start with closed combs and then move to open.
 
I hope that they continue in business. I own many high end razors. Wolfman, Blackbird, Rex, Razorock, Timeless ss and Ti. None shave as smooth as my Merkur 39c. I would never give it up. Because of this thread I already ordered a backup.
 
Well the 34c is supposedly the most popular safety razor in the world. The company's got to be worth something, right? My guess is that somebody or something will acquire them and continue to put out their product. Whether that means a decrease in quality, no one can say. But I find it hard to believe they're just gonna fade away.

Just in case, I ordered the 37c this morning. No sense in risking it. Now I'll have all the ones I'm interested in owning.
37C is great! Wonder if Muhle could buy Merkur?
 
I don't share the same sentiments with the majority of members across the forums and I hope you excuse my rant.

It's sad to see a company shutting down their business, but this is not final. They're looking for an investor. They have a good name and a long history in grooming supplies. They'll most probably find one as soon as this pandemic comes to an end. All products will remain the same as the labor with years of knowledge and expertise is there waiting.

Also, how many of us are using Merkur razors to shave with these days? Very few. Fewer than ever. Is this the end of traditional shaving? NO. Are there plenty of better performing razors available anytime? Certainly yes. So why all this panic? I'm sorry, I can't get it.

I've tried several Merkur razors, modern and vintage. If you compare a Merkur from the 1940s-1950s to a recent Merkur, you'd see a distinct difference in quality. Personally, I'm acutely aware of that as I've owned vintage Merkurs. If you have had the chance to own one, you'd have seen that too. Merkur does not live up to its reputation the last years.

Pot metal or zamak is a material that wears out easily and if you drop or hit your razor by accident, you're off to buy a new one. If you have the bad habit of screwing the handle tighter than usual, you'll soon end up with a bent thread on the top plate. I've been in the vintage hunt for a few years. If you ever find a vintage zamak razor in good condition, you have to consider yourself lucky and grab it. This happens once in a blue moon, you see such examples very rarely. It's more likely to find a Gillette from the early 1900s than a zamak made razor from the 1950s. Brass is a much more durable material. Stainless steel is even more durable and resistant to corrosion. I'll stick to these two materials for the rest of my shaving days. All the zamak razors I had had in my collection were sold when I understood how flimsy they are.

And do you know what I hate more about this situation? The fact that if no investor is interested to acquire them and they officially go bankrupt, Merkur razors will obtain a cult status, we will see Merkur razors popping up at premium prices, people will express their love about them more often than ever, they will say they're the "best ever" even though some of these are rubbish (my opinion).

If you're in hoarding mode, that's really good for the vendors who need money in these challenging times and bad for your pocket. You'll end up buying multiple razors you won't need in the foreseeable future and when you understand that you will want to get rid of them, but guess what. They're many people who think alike, so if you thought of selling them in the future for profit, you'd better be ready to wait many years.

I'm sure that none of the sad people has ever supported the Chinese knock-off industry and hasn't bought the Futur clone...

End of rant. Please continue with the sad reactions.
I've been lucky and haven't gotten any bad Merkurs or Dovo straight razors yet in the last seven years or so. However, I have shed some blood as a result of a misaligned Weishi that passed through a poor QC process, so I won't be buying any more of those or their ilk.
 
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